The first day of fall may be followed by the last day for us all if predictions of our demise hold true.

Fall officially starts on Friday at 4:02 p.m. Eastern Time, and then on Saturday (the time isn't specific), the Earth allegedly has a date with the apocalypse. And given recent world events, it does seem feasible the end of the world could be coming.

It was good for a laugh. Remember the Mayan calendar in 2012? Or how about Y2K?

But then Hurricane Harvey put Houston under water, Hurricane Irma sideswiped Florida, and Hurricane Maria plowed over Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, wildfires raged all over the West, and Mexico had two major earthquakes in less than two weeks.

A cat tries to find dry ground around an apartment complex after it was inundated with water following Hurricane Harvey on August 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi August 25, has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain in and around Houston.(Photo: Scott Olson/ Getty Images)

And that’s all just from the past month in North America alone. We won’t even talk about the escalating tension with North Korea.

Making sense of it all

When real and sobering events link together over time, we look for ways to make sense of it all. Some may find comfort in church or with family and friends, while others escape to nature.

A wildfire fire burns near Weber Canyon in Utah this week in Utah. More than 1,000 people were evacuated as high winds fed the flames that started in a canyon north of Salt Lake City. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is calling for better use of funds to manage forests and cut the cost and devastation of wildfires.(Photo: SCOTT G. WINTERON/THE DESERET NEWS)

“Stressful situations increase the tendency to think less analytically. An individual experiencing a stressful life event may begin to engage in a particular way of thinking, such as seeing patterns that don’t exist,” said Swami of the study.

“Therefore stressful life events may sometimes lead to a tendency to adopt a conspiracist mind-set. Once this worldview has become entrenched, other conspiracy theories are more easily taken on board.”

A man heads into the building surf at Seagull Park in South Patrick Shores.(Photo: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)

Now that Meade’s theory, which is largely based on Biblical passages, seems less of a joke, other end-of-the-world predictions are dovetailing with his.

Popular prophesy

One popular Bible quote currently making the rounds as evidence: Luke 21: 25-26, which says:

“25. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

“26. Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

Other explanations

Others attribute these natural disasters to some sort of karma on humanity - for a virtual buffet of transgressions. Our sins? Our elections? The Kardashians? Take your pick.

A different explanation for this summer’s numerous intense hurricanes and wildfires is climate change. The surface temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean are unusually warm this season (and warm, open waters feed hurricanes with energy), and record temperatures in the West have essentially baked the vegetation, making it more vulnerable to wildfire.

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Dramatic timelapse video shows a raging wildfire take hold in the Columbia River Gorge area in Washington state, 52 miles east of Portland, Oregon. The video was shot from Monday night to Tuesday mnorning. (Sept. 6)
AP

So even though they’ve come to their conclusions in entirely different ways, zealots and scientists are essentially on the same page about Earth’s impending doom.